State of the Art
The present invention relates to pry and press tools for removing the dispensing insert from a bottle. More specifically, the present invention relates to a lightweight, portable, multi-use hand tool capable of removing the vial-top dispensing inserts in common use for essential oils, perfumes, medicinal liquids, and other liquids. The pry and press tool can also be used to insert a dispensing insert (such as a rollerball, dropper, or aperture-reducer) into bottles of varying sizes.
Field of Art
Small bottles or containers, often made of glass or hard plastic, are commonly used to carry personal quantities of liquids such as perfumes or essential oils. These bottles or vials may be a variety of sizes and may have a variety of mouth or opening dimensions—10 ml elongate and threaded glass bottles, about 7 cm tall, are commonly used, but the bottles may be very small, with 0.5 ml of volume or even less. The mouth of the bottle (through which a liquid is inserted into or dispensed from the bottle) may range from approximately 2 cm to 0.5 cm. In order to allow a user to dispense only a few drops at a time, the bottles have an insert in the opening, such as an aperture reducer, droppers, caps, spigots, rollerballs, or cork-like inserts. The insert is typically made of a pliable material, such as plastic, which allows for a fluid tight fit, but which also makes it difficult to manually press on and remove the insert. An outer cap may then be screwed onto the bottle in order to prevent accidental dispensing of the liquid.
These cork-like inserts, however, must typically be removed in order to fill the bottle with fluid again. Moreover, the inserts may become worn or damaged, and must be replaced. Because the bottles and their corresponding inserts may be very small, when removing or replacing these inserts it can be difficult to apply the needed amount of force with the limited area available. Further, both the bottle and the insert may be very slippery, especially if the bottle was filled with an oil-based fluid.
Many people are forced to use knives, fingernails, counter edges, or other unwieldy and potentially dangerous tools to remove and re-secure these inserts. This may cause damage to the inserts, some of which may be quite expensive, or even personal injury. Some inserts, such as rollerballs (which dispense fluid in the same manner as the tip of a ball-point pen), cannot be pressed on directly, because the ball is often hollow and may collapse under excessive pressure. Other inserts such as aperture reducers (which contain a single small hole at the center, and otherwise seal tightly in the mouth of the bottle) are difficult to press into place with a finger. This is because the finger may cover the small hole, and as the insert is pressed into place, the air pressure inside the bottle increases. When pressure is released, liquid in the bottle may splash back, wasting or spilling it. Elderly users, especially those with arthritis, may not have the manual dexterity to remove the inserts at all.
Currently there is no tool available that can be used both to pry loose and/or to firmly press in, a removable bottle cap insert, spigot, rollerball, aperture reducer, or similar bottle fitment. Thus there is a need for a tool which not only performs these functions for a variety of varying bottle and insert sizes, but is also hand-held, and easily portable. It is further advantageous if the device offers a variety of gripping positions and fulcrums suitable for either right or left-handed, arthritic or unimpaired users. It is beneficial if the tool is made of a material which does not pit, deform, or alter due to long exposure to the types of fluids or oils commonly placed in small bottles or vials. Finally, it is advantageous if the tool is flat and lacks sharp exposed edges or points, so that it can be easily slipped into a pocket without snagging, or inserted between the pages of a book (for example, a perfume recipe book.)